My go-to midmorning pick me up has been none other than this 3 C’s smoothie.

The three C’s being: Chocolate, Chia, and Coffee. In smoothie form. Go me.

For breakfast? For snack?? your call. This is my midmorning, post oatmeal, snack.

Back to my drink. In typical My Foodie Call fashion, I had to amp up the health a tad by adding banana, and of course chia seeds. Seeds of energy. One of my top ten staples. This recipe also has this fantastic cold brew concentrate from Trader Joes that I discovered last summer. So, so good I was afraid that it was strictly a summer thing and would have to stockpile dozens of bottles in my garage but after speaking with management, it was confirmed it was here to stay. No hoarding necessary.

For sure one of my favorite Trader Joes products. When using it for ice coffee, you mix it 2 parts water to 1 part coffee concentrate.

And yes I realize that it is in fact, still winter and most people are craving warm, comforting drinks like chai’s and lattes. Not this cat. I have been craving cold and sweet lately. And although this drink is more of a “summer-y” one, it totally works for me midmorning. Maybe it’s the lack of sunshine that leaves me wanting to hibernate with sugar. Regardless, this is less evil than a pint of ice cream at 9:00 AM. Especially when I need a boost and my 6:00 AM coffee has worn off.

The ingredients

3 C’s Smoothie

8 oz Trader Joe’s chocolate soy milk
1-2 oz Trader Joe’s cold-brew coffee concentrate
1 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1-2 Tbsp honey
1 ripe banana (Usually I use a banana a lot more ripe than the one in the picture, but this was all I had on hand)
1-2 tsps chia seeds
large handful of ice